Mañosa designed the toys on paper, his wife Denise’s sister executed them using natural materials, and their children Bambi, Dino and Gelo tested the toys out.
In 1969, National Artist for Architecture Francisco “Bobby” Mañosa and his wife, Denise, faced an unexpected parenting dilemma: their daughter was about to celebrate her first birthday, yet no company offered children’s furniture rentals.
“So he (Bobby) said, that cannot be. You cannot put children—babies—on adult furniture,” Denise Mañosa told the press at Alma restaurant in Poblacion, Makati, recently. “So he started to design the first children’s furniture. And because of the children’s furniture, we decided to open a store called Dimples in 1971.”
Dimples first opened in Greenhills before moving to the Tesoro’s building in Makati. Then martial law was declared and toy importation was prohibited, forcing parents to create their own for their kids, including the Mañosas. This necessity gave birth to the Bobi Toy line, which they soon began selling at Dimples.
The process went like this: Bobby would design the toys on paper, Denise’s sister would execute using natural materials, and their children Bambi, Dino and Gelo would test the toys out.
Five of those original toys have since inspired full-sized sculptural pieces that double as functional furniture, which will be silently auctioned online via Leon Gallery from November 22 to December 13. The project is part of Tanaw, the first fundraiser of the National Artist’s legacy nonprofit Tukod Foundation. Toyo collaborated with Tukod for this project, where interested buyers can place their final bids on the auction’s last day, December 13.
The selected pieces represent some of the most iconic designs from the toy line: Tipaklong, SeeSaw, Bobi Horse, Kokok, and Manok. Each full-sized sculpture will bear Mañosa’s signature rendered in brass, and only one of each piece will be produced. Designed with both beauty and purpose in mind, the pieces serve more than one function. The auction is led by Bobby’s granddaughters, Natasha “Tasha” and Bella Tanjutco, the daughters of Bambi Mañosa Tanjutco.
“The Bobi Horse is an alternative to those plastic car toys where you could glide and use your feet to pedal,” said Bella. “It was inspired by the Baguio horses and the kalesas that his kids would see.”
They further explained that the pieces are of upcycled wood. But some are fabricated metal, like the Tipaklong, which they said is the most popular in the toy line. SeeSaw also used the same material.
“It was designed with the Filipino in mind with six months of sunshine and six months of rain,” Bella said. “So this is also an indoor seesaw that can move. Kids can also crawl in the nooks as well.”
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A climate-resilient school
Proceeds of the auction will fund the first phase of Bayay Halian, which includes building the Grade 6 and Grade 7 classrooms and establishing a community kitchen. The larger vision is to create a climate-resilient school for all school levels and a creative space for all 200–300 students of Halian Island. Halian Island is located between Dinagat and Siargao.
The sisters said that they wanted the school to serve as proof of concept of what schools should really be like in the Philippines. Therefore the school was inspired by the neo-vernacular architecture that their grandfather often preached about.
The design is reminiscent of the Bahay Kubo. The walls can be folded to allow natural airflow through it, while the roof will make use of natural materials found on the island.
“When a typhoon comes in and it gets washed away, it’s easily replaceable. Sometimes people forget that imported roofing can be torn off during a typhoon. It’s going to be so hard to bring the material back,” Tasha, who serves as the executive director of Tukod, told The POST.
The foundation will work around the existing structure, improving and extending it to accommodate more children up to the high school level. Their goal is to raise Php10 million. Tasha explains that one of the major drivers of cost is transporting construction materials to the island, which significantly increases expenses. It is also the reason why they divided the project into three phases. They expect the construction to take time.
Tasha and Bella found out about Halian Island in 2021 during the aftermath of Typhoon Odette. A friend, Richmond Seladores, had been organizing projects to help the remote islands surrounding Siargao. Halian was one of them and one with a story. It was said that in the chaos following the typhoon, many feared that Halian had been completely wiped out. It took weeks before anyone reached the island—only to find that not a single resident had died. The community had survived by working together and caring for one another.
“Majority of their houses were non-existent after that. Our whole goal, beyond immediate relief, was also understanding how other island communities can learn also from Halian—everyone on the island survived. They pay tribute to the entire coral reef around them,” Tasha said.
Tanaw will offer a 100 percent tax-back certificate for donors and a plaque inside the school. Tasha said that they want to show that when creatives come together, interesting solutions come from it.
“We often feel like there really is not a space right now that focuses on championing Filipino design in the development space. A lot of people come up with programs that veer away from Filipino culture, but our goal is to show that sustainable development is only possible with our nature and our culture,” Tasha said.
The sisters added that raising awareness of Filipino craft and creativity is what Bobby Mañosa did his whole life. It is a goal they have now made their own. And through them, their grandfather’s legacy finds new life. One that is shaped by dedication, ingenuity and cultural pride.
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